Teen charged in break-in, sex assault to face judge today

NOTTINGHAM — Police arrested a 17-year-old after an hours-long search Wednesday morning on charges of burglary and sexual assault at a residence on Gebig Road.

Zachery Lajoie, of 26 Gebig Road, is in custody and being held pending arraignment on two counts of burglary and attempted aggravated felonious sexual assault, and two counts of sexual assault.

Police said that approximately 6:10 a.m. a residential burglary was reported on Gebig Road in which the victim was sexually assaulted. The suspect was reported by the victim as fleeing on foot out the back door of the residence.

A subsequent search of the area was conducted by multiple police agencies. During the course of the investigation leads were developed as to the suspect’s identity.

Sgt. Brian Spagna said Lajoie was arrested by Nottingham police without incident at 8:29 a.m. and is being held at the Rockingham County House of Corrections.

Agencies assisting the Nottingham Police Department included the New Hampshire State Police including members of the canine unit, the Northwood Police Department and Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office.

Lajoie is the same suspect charged by Dover police in June in connection with the theft of a purse from a woman in front of the Dover Public Library.

Police claim that on June 20 officers responded to the area outside of the Dover Public Library for a report of a theft. The victim, a 69-year-old Dover resident, reported she was walking into the library and had a push cart filled with her belongings. One of the items was her purse that was resting on top of the cart.

The victim reported that she turned for a moment, taking her eyes off the cart, and when she turned back around she immediately noticed her purse missing and observed a male subject, subsequently identified as Lajoie, running away.

Lajoie had also been charged as a result of a warrant for the crime of indirect criminal contempt.

On Friday, June 14, Lajoie had been arrested for the crime of resisting detention as a result of fleeing from an officer who was investigating a collision between a bicycle that Lajoie was riding and a motor vehicle. Lajoie was released on personal recognizance bail for the resisting detention charge with the bail condition that he remain in the custody of his parents.

Lajoie was released to his parent at Dover police headquarters and immediately fled on foot, resulting in the warrant for indirect criminal contempt.

No bail was set for Lajoie Wednesday, who will be arraigned this morning at a time to be determined, according to Spagna.

He also said it will be determined in the morning whether Lajoie will be arraigned at Candia District Court or Rockingham County Superior Court, depending on the judge’s schedule.